Captain Blue Hen on Newark Life

October 12, 2015

It’s a Wednesday afternoon, the day that new comic books arrive, and Captain Blue Hen Comics is filled with beaming customers who are here to immerse themselves in this haven of pop culture. Ever since Captain Blue Hen Comics opened on East Main Street in 1981, it has been a beloved destination for comic book fans, but now, more than three decades later, there’s much, much more than comics at Delaware’s favorite comic book shop.

As he stands at the front of a store filled with what he calls “fun stuff for fun people,” owner Joe Murray contemplates how to describe or quantify all the items that are on display for customers.

“I like to say that we have more than enough for anybody to find something that they like,” Murray said. “We are always trying to diversify, to cover a greater range. We also like to say that we are a one-stop pop culture shop. Our job is to sell fun stuff to fun people.”

Indeed, you can find an incredible range of products here, ranging from the latest Superman comic to one of the Fables books, a series that deals with people from fairy tales and folklore that was first published by DC Comics in 2002 and just recently ended its run. Do you like “The Walking Dead” television show? Of course you do. At Captain Blue Hen Comics, you can pick up an issue of the comic book series that preceded the cultural phenomenon. Or, you can delve into literally thousands of stories featuring the X-Men, Superman, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Captain America, and any of the other members of the enormously popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s even a display of new Star Wars merchandise promoting the upcoming movie, “The Force Awakens.”